MPH_POKO Entreprise and Cultural Differences

Faculty of Economics and Administration
Autumn 2010
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
doc. Ing. Mgr. Jakub Procházka, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
doc. PhDr. Božena Šmajsová Buchtová, CSc. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. Božena Šmajsová Buchtová, CSc.
Department of Business Management – Faculty of Economics and Administration
Contact Person: Vlasta Radová
Timetable of Seminar Groups
MPH_POKO/01: Tue 14:35–16:15 P103, J. Procházka
Prerequisites (in Czech)
! PHPKO Entreprise and Cultural Differ
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 80 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/80, only registered: 0/80, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/80
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
While establishing business relations and doing business with foreign partners, it is important not only to be familiar with macro-and microeconomic information but also with specific cultural values of the country. These are values and rules that people living in the culture acquire during their life. They are passed on from generation to generation and create a sort of cultural pattern which influence the behaviour of each member of the community. These cultural attributes include language, religion, values and attitudes, traditions, education and training, relations between human beings (social organization of a community), social controlling mechanisms (law and legal system), politics, economics (a method of distribution of goods, material culture , technology) and others.

Cultural differences of various countries which are important for business are taught in the course from the following aspects:
- The value of time and time orientation, according to which partners in different cultures prefer either short-term working relationships or long-term cooperation.
- Religion which determines whether the environment and facts are influenced by people or whether they are determined by volition which is beyond their reach.
- Personal characteristics affecting the attitude to a business partners. They are either accepted with trust and fairness, or with caution and suspicion.
- Philosophical orientation of life either on the performance (Western culture) preferring pragmatic and rational aspects in decision-making; or perception of life and interpersonal relationships with the emphasis on the emotional aspect of life (Eastern culture).
- The ability to work in a team or preferring individual performance.
The course will focus in detail on social conventions of selected countries, which are important for trade and business activities of Czech companies, enterprises and institutions.

Cultural specificities will cover:
1. etiquette and protocol (general rules of social contact) of the language used, the form and content of a business card, addressing, clothes, table manners, the position of women in the culture, religion, working days and holidays, suitable gifts, recommended conversation topics, the principles of written contact (letters), forms of humour;
2. preparation for negotiations, the style of negotiations, the way of expression and thinking, attitude to decision-making and implementation of commitments, the law and legal system of selected countries.
It is also important for business to know consumers’ habits, current political trends, main types of business associations and external management structure. Students will also get important addresses necessary for establishing a contact in the country in a specific field of business.

Main objectives can be summarized as follows:
- to acquire knowledge of cultural differences important for doing business with foreign partners
- to learn about general rules of social intercourse important for business activities
- to teach students to see cultural differences in verbal and nonverbal communication and thus enhance social sensitivity for the success of commercial and business activities
- to refine social manners and behaviour of students in international business activities
Syllabus
  • Thematic plan of seminars
  • 1. Introduction seminar - the content and importance of studying cultural differences in business. Methods and techniques used in seminars. Introduction of participants. Division into teams.
  • 2. Western Europe German-speaking countries: Germany, Austria, Switzerland Francophone countries: Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands South Europe: Italy, Portugal, Spain
  • 3. Great Britain and Ireland Europe - Northern countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden
  • 4. Southeast Europe: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Yugoslavia, Cyprus, Romania, Greece, Slovenia, Turkey
  • 5. Northeast Europe : Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia
  • 6. Central-East Europe: the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary
  • 7. Europe - countries of former Soviet Union: Russia, Byelorussia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan
  • 8. Arabian countries: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Syria, Tunisia, Iran, Israeli
  • 9. Africa - selected countries: Angola, Ethiopia, South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria
  • 10. Asia: China, Philippines, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Taiwan Vietnam - particularities of business minority in the Czech Republic. Business in Vietnam.
  • 11. Asia - Japan. How to successfully deal with the Japanese. Specifics of the Japanese. The significance of religion, language and cultural differences. Cultural differences.
  • 12. North America: Canada, the United States of America, Mexico, South America - selected countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Venezuela
  • 13. Final test
Literature
    required literature
  • ŠMAJSOVÁ BUCHTOVÁ, Božena and Jiří POKORNÝ. Podnikání a kulturní odlišnosti (Business and cultural differencies). Brno: ESF MU, 2004, 247 pp. skripta. ISBN 80-210-3490-4. info
Teaching methods
Students are performing presentations on given topics concerning cultural differences of a selected country/area. In the classes professionals with an experience from the business and social contact with selected countries are presenting. Their speech is followed by a discussion with students.
Assessment methods
Credits are awarded for active participation in seminars and high-quality presentations. Presentations are processed in PowerPoint, and continuously evaluated. The final test is written in the final week.
The test consists of three questions; the time limit is half an hour. The test is assessed on the point scale; the final classification is passed - failed. The condition for successful completion of the final test is a satisfactory answer to at least 70% of questions. None of the issues can be assessed with mark F.
If student commits a prohibited act, such as usage of various forbidden tools, cribbing, taking out any part of the exam or any other cheating, teacher is allowed to interrupt an exam and to grade a student with F, FF or FFF according to the seriousness of the offence. Mentioned procedure relates to all the activities that
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
General note: Nezapisují si studenti, kteří absolvovali předmět PHPKO.
Listed among pre-requisites of other courses
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2009, Autumn 2011, Autumn 2012, Autumn 2013, Autumn 2014, Autumn 2015, Autumn 2016, Autumn 2017, Autumn 2018.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2010, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/econ/autumn2010/MPH_POKO